At stake in this election:

• 240 seats in the National Assembly (Narodno Sobranie)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Georgi PURVANOV
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Simeon SAXE-COBURG
• Assembly: Bulgaria has a unicameral National Assembly (Narodno Sobranie) with 240 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system to serve a 5-year term.
• The Prime Minister is elected by parliament.
• In the National Assembly (Narodno Sobranie) 240 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.***

*** There are 31 multi-member districts in the list tier. There is a national threshold of 4 percent. Each MMD is also a single-member district in the nominal tier. Each voter gets two votes. Candidates in the list tier may stand in a maximum of two districts. Candidates in the nominal tier may stand in one district only.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Coalition: Coalition for Bulgaria / (KzB)*
  • Leader: Sergei STANISHEV
  • Seats won in this election: 82
  • Seats won in last election: 48
• Party: National Movement Simeon II / (NDSV)
  • Leader: Ivan KOSTOV
  • Seats won in this election: 53
  • Seats won in last election: 120
• Party: Movement for Rights and Freedoms / (DPS)
  • Leader: Ahmed DOGAN
  • Seats won in this election: 34
  • Seats won in last election: 21
• Coalition: Attack / Ataka
  • Leader: Volen SIDEROV
  • Seats won in this election: 21
  • Seats won in last election: N/A
• Coalition: United Democratic Forces / (ODS)*****
  • Leader: Nadezhda MIKHAYLOVA
  • Seats won in this election: 20
  • Seats won in last election: 51
• Party: Democrats for Strong Bulgaria
  • Leader: Ivan KOSTOV
  • Seats won in this election: 17
  • Seats won in last election: N/A
• Coalition: Bulgaria People's Union*******
  • Leader: Anastasia MOSER
  • Seats won in this election: 13
  • Seats won in last election: N/A
• Party: Others
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in this election: 0
  • Seats won in last election: N/A

* The Coalition for Bulgaria is composed of several parties dominated by the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP).
***** The United Democratic Forces consists of the Union of Democratic Forces (SDS), the Democratic Party (DP), the Gergyovden Movement, the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union - United (BZNS-united), and the Roma Movement for an Equal Public Model (MEPM).
******* Bulgaria People's Union Coalition is composed of the Union of Free Democrats (SSD), the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union - People's Union (BZNS), and the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (VMRO).

Last Parliamentary election:

• The last parliamentary election was held on June 17, 2001.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 7,739,900 (2004)
• Registered Voters: 6,720,941 (June 2005 )

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 3,971,541 (2005)

·         Is Bulgaria a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has Bulgaria ratified CEDAW: Yes (8 February 1982)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes 

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 50 (following the 2005 election)

·         Human Development Index Position: 59 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Bulgaria a signatory to CRPD: Yes (27 September 2007)

·         Has Bulgaria ratified CRPD: Yes (22 March 2012)

·         Population with a disability: 1,160,985 (est.)